Cannabis

[snotmonkey]

I'm not a cannabis user but it amazes me just how many people from all backgrounds and ages do use and openly acknowledge the fact that they toke. how long will it be before cannabis is legalised and the government piles on the tax?

[WaldoMcFroog]

I'm not a user either. Well, not for many a year...

Until there is a proper Royal Comission investigation, nothing will change. The politicians will continue to brand all drugs into unweildy categories: Legal, Pharaceutical, Bad and Very Bad.

The irony is, of course, that dope is a clearly better drug than many legally prescribed pharmacueticals or the government's favourite of alcohol. Dope has fewer social implications, less serious (though let's not be naive here - if you smoke it, it will harm you (but let's not be kneejerk - cannabis can be taken in ways that don't involve smoking and therefore have minimal health implications)) health implications and is a clean, renewable crop whose 'waste' products can be used for other purposes such as paper.

The most significant problem with canabis is that anyone can grow it.

Therefore, it's hard to profit from it. If you legalise it, why would you buy it from a tobacco company (who, make no mistake, are ready to produce pre-rolled anywhere in the world and have copyrighted their packet designs and trademarks already) when you can grow your own at low low low cost?

And there's the rub. If you can't sell it to people, you can't tax it... (However, one can make booze, but how many bother? If it's there, ready to go, the quality is assured and it's available, maybe people would go for it. A decent government would be able to create legislation that meant they reaped the tax benefit.)

[andy hughes]

That's probably the most cogent logical answer I've ever seen on this site - i can think of nothing what ever to add to it (there's a first!) - way to go Waldo!

[sft42]

And isn't it ironic that this government are planning longer drinking hours (and will no doubt coin it in from this) and they seem quite happy to do this when any person who has ever been in a casualty department on a saturday evening will tell you graphically of the violence that overindulgence in booze causes, have you ever seen or heard of anyone wanting to fight after a good hit of blow? I think not.

[GeordieSteve]

I agree. It's only illegal due to the fact it's hard to tax. As soon as they find a way to tax it, it will be available.

I heard a report recently that canabis was dangerous because users tend to hold the smoke in their mouths longer! Thats like saying screwing in a bulb is dangerous due to some people doing it while standing in a bucket of water

[lisaj]

I think you should all have a listen to The Streets - The Irony Of It All. It's a musical version of Waldo's answer and it's brilliant!

[lisaj]

Geordie: I've heard so many people say that it's alright (ie. not unhealthy) that they smoke, because they only smoke cannabis. I can't believe their stupidity! - Not only are they too poor to smoke it pure, so we're talking roughly 90:10 mix of tobacco to cannabis, but they remove the filter and stick in a roach - if this isn't more damaging, I don't know what is!